Strengthening Canada's Communities

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June & July 2008

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In this issue:

Apply Now! $1000 Bursaries for SFU CED Program The BC CED Network, together with Coast Capital Savings and the Vancity Foundation, are pleased to announce $1000 bursaries are now available for ten practitioners to upgrade their CED skills and knowledge through Simon Fraser University's Certificate Program for CED Professionals, starting Fall 2008. Click here to read more...

Feature: Bill 27 - What does it mean for affordable housing? Former BC CED Network Council member, Pascale Knoglinger and I attended a presentation by Alan Osbourne, Executive Director of Intergovernmental Relations and Planning for the Ministry of Community Development to explain Bill 27. We wanted to know if this would have any impact on housing affordability...click here to read more.

Update on the Community Development Trust In our May newsletter we reported that the Provincial government has unveiled their program of spending for the Community Development Trust. Here's a bit more detail. Click here to read more...

Apply Now! $1000 Bursaries for SFU CED Program Deadline: July 31

The BC CED Network, together with Coast Capital Savings and the Vancity Foundation, are pleased to announce $1000 bursaries are now available for ten practitioners to upgrade their CED skills and knowledge through Simon Fraser University's Certificate Program for CED Professionals, starting in fall 2008. Deadline to apply is July 31, 2008. Application forms and more information here.

FEATURE: Bill 27 - What does it mean for affordable housing? By Nicole Chaland

On May 29th, Bill 27-2008, also known as Local Government (Green Communities) Statutes Amendment Act received Royal Assent becoming effective immediately. Bill 27-2008 enables municipalities to waive Development Cost Charges for small lot subdivisions and for for-profit affordable rental housing.

Former BC CED Network Council member, Pascale Lavoie-Scott and I attended a presentation by Alan Osbourne, Executive Director of Intergovernmental Relations and Planning for the Ministry of Community Development to explain Bill 27. We wanted to know if this would have any impact on housing affordability.

Bill 27 is part of our government's series of actions to deal with climate change. Mr. Osborne explained: Bill 27 is part of the green communities program. The BC government's climate change projections are not arbitrary--they are based on science. The 2050 target is what scientists tell us we must get to if we are to avoid catastrophe. The scientists have told us that if we don't get below an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 it will be bad. The BC government's 2020 target is there because otherwise the chance of hitting the 2050 target is slim. Our government doesn't yet have a plan to reach the 80% reduction; we're developing it all the time.

According to the presenter, BC's energy is clean and so we need to focus on urban planning, reducing sprawl, encouraging small lot development and densification to reduce emissions associated with transportation and inefficient energy use in buildings. That is the underlying principle of Bill 27. We need small lot development now. Bill 27 represents the first phase of legislation to get local governments to take climate change more seriously. And so, Bill 27 modernizes-ever so softly-our municipal charter in the hopes that municipal governments will gradually drop outdated sub-urban development, car-centric developments and introduce (eventually) smart growth principles.

Good news is that the government is going to move towards evidence-based decision making in the realm of climate change actions. Not only will we see community data sets tracking our progress to reducing emissions, but local government infrastructure funding will be tied to their performance.

But what - if anything - will Bill 27 do to enhance housing affordability? In short, nothing. Municipalities can waive development cost charges for for-profit affordable rental housing and for uber-small lot development. Development cost charges are paid by developers to municipalities to pay for the costs associated from increased use of infrastructure. If a municipality chose to waive the charges - waive as in ‘to forfeit' not wave as in ‘wave a magic wand' - than the costs don't disappear, they must be paid somehow from somewhere.

And if your municipality, like mine, is more interested in generating revenue than improving housing affordability they will not bother introducing the policy. Further, as one senior planner pointed out, ‘you already can waive DCC's for non-profit affordable housing.'

Update on the Community Development Trust

In our May newsletter we reported that the Provincial government has unveiled their program of spending for the Community Development Trust. Here's a bit more detail. The program will run for three years with the goal of spending the bulk of the cash as soon as possible.

Encourage forestry workers in your community to apply for tuition funds. Each worker can get $5000 per year and the only criterion is that they must enroll in a ‘designated' public or private post secondary school in BC. Apply now! Funding must start the first day of the school year and the government workers have promised an easy application process and are aiming for a two week turnaround time.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

BC CED Network launches $10 000 Community Economic Development Bursary program! The BC CED Network, together with Coast Capital Savings and the Vancity Foundation, are pleased to announce $1000 bursaries are now available for ten practitioners to upgrade their CED skills and knowledge through Simon Fraser University's Certificate Program for CED Professionals, starting in fall 2008. Deadline to apply is July 30, 2008. (Website)

Programs for the $129-million Community Development Trust announced as a one-time investment last January by the federal government has now been defined by the BC government. The fund will include Tuition Assistance to displaced forest workers (13% of Trust), Transitional Assistance for Older Workers (67% of Trust), and a Job Opportunities Program (20% of Trust). The Job Opportunities Program is of interest to community economic development organizations. (Website)

GOOD IDEAS

Coquitlam is the first city in North America to have a city-owned fibre-optic network.(Website)

Markham is the first municipality in Canada to adopt Local Food Plus (LFP) procurement practices for its municipal food services, an initiative to help support Ontario's farm economy, address climate change, reduce green house gases and pesticide use, and to promote environmentally responsible purchasing. (Website)

NEW KNOWLEDGE & RESOURCES

From Psychology to Policy Sherri Torjman, June 2008 - This paper considers three major links between psychology and policy. The first relates to the definition of disability and the associated eligibility criteria for a range of income benefits and supports. The second key relationship involves access to psychological services and mental health education for the population, more generally. The third substantive link pertains to the core economic and social factors that contribute to positive mental health. (Document)

Just Another Emperor? The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism by Michael Edwards (Mar 2008) (Document)

EVENTS

1. Gear up for the new BC Building Code with these two workshops! (Website) July 7 (Vancouver) & July 21 (Victoria) Introduction to Energy Modelling for Building Officials, Consultants and Developers July 8-9 (Vancouver) & July 22-23 (Victoria) Building Energy Simulation Software Training *Workshops will also be offered in September/October in Prince George and Kelowna.

Arts program: Innovations, focus on new opportunities in the arts and culture sector and seeks to strengthen and enhance the creative capacity of organizations and communities across BC. Deadline: September 29, 2008 (Website)